Within The Holy Pillar
by EdeaOfEternia
Summary: Edea and Alternis face off upon the quickly-deteriorating deck of Grandship as the Holy Pillar burns around them. SPOILERS FOR BRAVELY DEFAULT CH 4/5. Wrote this in hopes of improving my inability to write decent battle scenes. uwu Enjoy.


"No! Ringabel!" Edea shrieked as the blonde amnesiac collapsed – not dead, not yet, but like Tiz and Agnes, exhaustion and injuries had rendered him almost comatose.

"Edea!" And there he stood, the man who had done this to her friends – the Dark Knight, Alternis Dim. "It's over- this ship is about to tear itself apart! Come back with me to the Duchy before it is too late!"

And indeed it was – Grandship was quaking beneath their feet and had been for the past twenty minutes, the light of the Holy Pillar almost blinding those who remained on deck. It was barely possible to stand for the two warriors left behind, both equally mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausted.

Going with him would have been the easy choice – the smart choice. But not the right one.

"Don't be a fool, Alternis," Edea tightened her grip on Ise-no-Kami, "You know full well that I can never go back!"

"Edea, please!" He was struggling to maintain sanity – even now, despite Edea's rejection of his feelings, he was hanging by a metaphorical thread. If she would only return – just come a bit closer, without her blade drawn for battle – "Why can you not see that you've been deceived?! The fairy –"

"Enough!" Edea cursed her blood, her home, her very memories of everything that she had given up and propelled herself forward, blade drawn. "The time for words is over, Alternis Dim!"

"Edea!" Alternis faltered back a step upon seeing her charge, but then grit his teeth and clutched the blood-red blade of his own at his side. He had no choice. He would have to disable her somehow – any way he could, but he would not take her life.

Even if she meant to take his.

Letting out a scream of frustration, Edea swung Ise-no-Kami in an upward arc as she neared Alternis, who blocked her oncoming attack with his own weapon – as she suspected. Glancing her blade off of his, she turned and brought it with her in one fluid motion, aiming for his side – but he could read her movements, dodging back –

Alternis had always been faster than her, even when they were children. The thought flitted through her mind as his kick connected with her side, throwing her to the deck. She tucked into a roll, recovering and standing just as Alternis rushed her again. Now she stumbled back on the defensive, blocking every blow he dealt –

And then Grandship threw them both to their knees with one violent lurch to the side – and then a solid _drop_. The craft evened out just as quickly, although significantly lower to the sea, but in its chaos the two warriors found themselves unarmed.

Edea recovered first, throwing herself upon him in hopes that she could wedge her hands into the gap beneath his helmet and around his throat –but found her slim wrists abruptly in his grasp, squeezing with all his strength. She grit her teeth as he attempted to roll to knock her off, and her grip loosened from his neck – but one hand wriggled free during a rotation, attempting to slam a fist into the other unarmored parts of his body – his sides, upper arms, hips, _anything_ –

And during their struggle, Edea caught hold of something – something spherical that hung in a pouch on his belt, something she hadn't noticed – and he hadn't noticed she noticed – so that when he finally managed to pitch her off of him, the Dark Knight Asterisk was thrown away, too.

Edea slid across the deck as Alternis was temporarily stunned by his loss of armor – and the pouch that held the Asterisk slipped through Edea's fingers as Grandship dropped and very nearly tipped itself sideways.

She watched it go rolling away to some unknown part of the crumbling airship before snapping out of her daze and scrambling to her feet, spinning to face her opponent –

It had been years since she had seen him without his armor. She wished this moment could have been more sweet than bitter, more reunion than scuffle, but no.

With his armor discarded, he only wore the dark green bodysuit that lay beneath, and half his face covered by the fabric that rose from the base of his neck - it was no wonder she couldn't decipher what he said from beneath his helm at times – but what was more, his hair – his – _hair_—

"Alternis?!" _Ringabel._ He looked like Ringabel!

As her friends lay near-dead not a few feet away and the very ground she stood upon was quickly plummeting towards the unforgiving sea, Edea Lee found herself unable to act. She felt cold - confused and angry, but mostly just _cold_ –

"E-Edea," Alternis finally found his voice, "Edea, I—"

But whatever words he tried to share were never heard; Grandship's main deck suddenly tore itself in two, leaving the pair on separate halves – with one of them falling faster, spiraling down and into the sea. Edea nearly threw herself from the edge after him, one arm outstretched as the light of the Holy Pillar became so painfully bright that it burned - _"ALTERNIS!"_


End file.
